Celebrating Celery! Cashews and Chicken with Celery!

I used to have a favorite Chinese restaurant that served a dish called Cashew Chicken Ding. I've never been able to find the exact recipe and only remember that it was HEAVY with celery. So, I thought I'd give it a go my way. Celery, the main ingredient,  is a crisp, crunchy, low calorie, high in vitamin k and potassium veggie that's a great green nutritional high fiber filler that will help you lose weight painlessly while you don't even realize it  But, going organic with celery is essential. It's one of the dirty dozen and non-organic celery is sprayed heavily with pesticides. And none of us wants to willingly eat pesticides, so DO go organic on this one. The crunchy green stuff, along with protein from chicken and cashews and a few peas makes this a delicious dish that is a really good alternative for lunch or supper. You can serve it over a bed of organic rice if you choose. Today I chose not to and just had it minus the bed.

CASHEW CELERY AND CHICKEN

Makes one serving

4 ounces pasture raised chicken breast - cooked

2 cups diced organic celery

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup frozen peas

1/4 cup raw cashews

1 T olive oil

2/3 cup chicken stock

2 tsp arrowroot

1 tsp liquid aminos (non soy alternative that tastes like soy sauce with a far lower salt content)

1/8 tsp powdered ginger

black pepper

Saute the celery and onion until tender crisp. Add the chicken and the peas. Combine the chicken stock, arrowroot, liquid aminos and ginger and stir until the arrowroot is dissolved. Pour it over the chicken and celery mixture. Toast the cashews until crunchy and toss them with the rest of the dish just before serving. Add black pepper to taste. It's from the earth and delicious!!

Shrimp Scampi with Garlic Mashed Cauliflower. And, buying organic - we're making a difference!

I had yesterday off  so I took the opportunity to make something really special for lunch. Oh my gosh this is good!! I love garlic, I love shrimp, I love cauliflower. So, what a combination! This has real butter in it for the healthy fat you should have every day but the entire recipe only has 2 teaspoons. The garlic - GREAT health benefits, including naturally lowering cholesterol and it's delicious. I probably eat garlic every day.

Shrimp Scampi with Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

This makes one serving. To make more just multiply the ingredients to make enough for the number you're going to serve.

First , for the cauliflower - Break it apart and boil the cauliflower until it's well done. Then as follows:

2 cups of organic cooked cauliflower florets
1 tsp organic butter
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/8 tsp salt
2 - 3 tsp unsweetened cashew milk

Put all ingredients except the cashew milk in a food processor and process until it's a smooth as you can get it. Add enough cashew milk to make the cauliflower take on the consistency of mashed potatoes.

For the Scampi -
4 ounces wild caught gulf shrimp
1 tsp organic butter
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 T white cooking wine
red pepper flakes (I used 3 dashes but next time I'll use more)
fresh snipped chives
lemon slices
salt to taste

Melt the butter in a small skillet or saute pan. Add the garlic and the shrimp and red pepper flakes and cook until the shrimp are a nice pink with no gray. If using precooked shrimp (I did) cook until hot (don't overcook the shrimp, it's gross). Add the parsley and white wine and stir well. Pour over the garlic mashed cauliflower and top with snipped chives. Add some organic greens for garnish (and to eat) and the lemon slices to squeeze over the shrimp. This was so good I wish I had some right now!! It's making me hungry just typing the recipe!

An aside - this recipe contains no grains so it wouldn't contain anything processed anyway. But I don't use processed food or processed food ingredients that may contain GMOs and I try to use organic foods, grains, fresh produce, locally grown produce as much as possible. I refuse to buy meat that I know has been raised in confinements and fed GMO feed and loaded up with antibiotics (let alone the treatment of raising animals in confinements). I saw the first ads yesterday for a law firm representing people in a class-action lawsuit who have gotten cancer after being exposed to glyphosate while working with it.  I'd rather just avoid getting sick than having to sue and die after I've been diagnosed with cancer. And if you get it from working with it, well it just makes sense to me that if you're eating food which contains GMOs (as messed up as that is) and its been sprayed with glyphosate and non organic produce that's been sprayed with pesticides and herbicides that of course you're also eating it. I'd rather not knowingly or willingly eat poison! I know it's not possible to buy organic all of the time but if you do as much as possible, it still makes a difference in what businesses will stock their shelves with. And, I know it's expensive but if we all buy more organic, the prices will go down. I do know I'm seeing my local grocery store carry a LOT more products that are now organic where they didn't used to carry any at all. Congratulations to us! We're making a difference! We really are. Keep up the good work!

Crab and Apple Soup with Curry

I have a confession to make. Last week I was running late and was just totally unprepared. I didn't bring lunch and I went to a franchise restaurant and got a bowl of soup. I haven't had commercially prepared soup in at least a year. I could taste every single chemical in that soup and after being away from it, it was pretty awful. Not only was it made from processed ingredients, I felt like I was eating a chemistry experiment. I didn't follow my own rule of IF THE EARTH DIDN'T MAKE IT, DON'T EAT IT! I know better. So, not again! Plus, I love making my own soup. When I grow up I want to be a soup chef!! I can picture myself making it in a huge cauldron over an open fire dancing around and stirring it with an oar! Soup for all!! Or perhaps maybe I should just stick to a soup pot on the stove in the kitchen. Less scary for any observers. Anyway, yesterday I found a recipe in one of those old fashioned things called a cook book. It had actual pages and was written on paper! The one that I found was quite different and when I saw the ingredient combination (crab AND apple), along with curry, I thought that's got to be pretty strange. Well, I put it together putting my own spin on it and it's DELICIOUS! The apple blends in very nicely and along with the curry adding a little heat, you get the additional health benefits from the curry. Don't be afraid to try it.
 

CRAB AND APPLE SOUP WITH CURRY

1 T coconut oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 T curry powder
1 apple peeled, cored and finely chopped (I used a Granny Smith)
1/4 cup arrowroot
4 cups of chicken broth
6 ounces crab
1 1/2 T pimento
1 cup unsweetened cashew milk
1/2 cup white cooking wine
toasted sunflower seeds and feta cheese for garnish

Cook the onion and garlic in the coconut oil until the onion is translucent. Stir in the curry powder, the apple and the arrowroot and cook until the apple is beginning the get tender (3 to 5 minutes). Add the remaining ingredients (except the cashew milk and the wine) and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add the cashew milk and the white wine and bring to a simmer. Top with toasted sunflower seeds and feta cheese. This soup COULD be used as a fancy dinner starter. But you can also bring it to work with you for lunch. Is it noon yet?

Soup is So Simple! Organic Chicken and Portobello with Rice Soup

For whatever reason I find chicken soup to be a serous comfort food. I think because one of my grandmothers always gave it to me when I was sick, so I associate that with a loving and caring grandmother. But she did give me canned soup. Maybe canned soup back then wasn't so bad, maybe it wasn't so good. I just don't know. But one thing for sure, I wouldn't touch that stuff while wearing a hazmat suit now. And, whether or not this can be associated with processed food that my grandmother ate, she did die of Alzheimer disease. Maybe an association, maybe not, but I make my chicken soup from scratch while still retaining the fond memories of time I spent with her, whether she gave me canned soup, or not. Plus, there's not a doubt in my mind if she had thought there was anything wrong with it, she certainly would have never given it to me. But, I'm not getting to the point. Here is the soup I made. It's organic, healthy, very simple and it's good!!

Organic Chicken and Portobello with Rice Soup

1 cup pasture raised cooked chicken breast cubed

1 cup organic Portobello mushrooms chopped
1 organic carrot chopped
1/2 cup organic uncooked rice (I used basmati  rice for this particular soup)
1 tsp organic onion powder
1 tsp organic minced garlic

2 cups organic chicken broth
4 cups organic mushroom broth

1/2 cup white cooking wine

Put it all in a pot except the wine. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer and cook until the rice is tender and the carrots are done. Add the wine at the end. Season with pepper and salt (if you used low sodium broth) and enjoy! I bring it to work for lunch and it makes the day (especially a Monday) much nicer!

Lunch at the Office - Organic Steak and Mushroom Soup

I take my lunch to work with me virtually every single day for several reasons. It's economical, I know exactly what's in it, I don't do fast food and I don't do GMO. For those reasons it's pretty much required that I do the cooking. So, fine...I will. Today I brought organic steak and mushroom soup. The steak I had left over (sometimes left over steak happens...every once in a while!) I made using this recipe and it makes really good soup! If you don't have steak, cooked organic beef of any kind will work. After it's done I pack the soup in a plastic container to carry it but take glass or stoneware to heat it up in. Microwaving in plastic transfers chemicals from the plastic to your food and I don't want to eat that. Home cooked soup at work makes the day a teeny bit better.

STEAK AND MUSHROOM SOUP

1/2 cup cooked steak cut into cubes

1 medium size fresh organic mushroom cut into slices

1/4 cup chopped organic celery

2 cups organic beef broth

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tablespoon red cooking wine

Put all ingredients in a pan and cook until boiling and the vegetables are tender. Let cool and place in a plastic container to take with you. Heat it up in the microwave in the stoneware or glass and there you have it! And, btw, it makes my office smell like a gourmet restaurant and I've yet to have anybody complain.

Fried Sage Potatoes with Basted Farm Eggs

I love fresh sage. It reminds my of my Aunt Fairy who grew it outside and used it all year. I grow it outside myself now and use it all year. I love going out early in the morning and picking a few leaves and using it in breakfast. She would put it in fresh ground pork (that she and Uncle George raised) and make sausage. I don't do that but I did put it in fried potatoes this morning and served it with a basted farm egg. It was SO good! So, here's the recipe for you. It's simple, it's quick, it's healthy, it's from the earth. Give it a try. I think you'll like it. Aunt Fairy approved!!

FRIED SAGE POTATOES with BASTED FARM EGGS

(SERVES ONE)

1 medium organic potato sliced thinly (using a mandolin slicer makes it much easier to get them really thin)

1/4 small organic onion sliced thinly

3 fresh organic sage leaves, chopped or snipped into small pieces

1 tablespoon organic extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Fry the potato and the onion until lightly brown. Toss in the sage leaves after chopping or snipping into small pieces. Cook until the potatoes and onions are as brown as you like. Sage will cook quickly and will burn if cooked too long. Salt and pepper to taste.

Basted Egg

Using a small skillet with a lid, bring about 1/2 cup of water to a simmer. Place the (hopefully) locally pasture raised organic farm egg (or eggs) in the water and put the lid on and cook at a simmer until it's a done as you like your eggs. Salt and pepper and serve with the potatoes and some sliced tomatoes if you like. I liked, so I did and they were good!! Happy breakfast! Or lunch, or supper for that matter.

Chicken Tenders with Pesto and Mozzarella

This summer I had a nice crop of basil so I turned it into pesto using walnuts instead of pine nuts, froze it in ice cube trays and then bagged it for use later on. Later on came today and I made this quick and easy recipe with it.

CHICKEN TENDERS WITH PESTO AND MOZZARELLA

2 pasture raised organic chicken tenders 

1 large tablespoon of pesto (you can use commercially prepared pesto if you don't have your own)

1 ounce of fresh mozzarella (I used 4 mozzarella pearls - two per chicken tender)

olive oil

Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Lightly pound or roll with a rolling pin the chicken tenders wrapped in plastic wrap until they are flattened. Spread the pesto on the flattened chicken equally between the two pieces and place the mozzarella on one end. Roll up the chicken starting with the end containing the cheese and tuck in the ends.  Place in a small baking dish and brush the tops with olive oil and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 20 to 25 minutes (until the juices run clear). Slice and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste and serve with fresh veggies of your choice. Green peppers and roma tomatoes pair quite nicely as a side with the chicken.

Organic Chili Stuffed Green Pepper

This is really simple. I love simple recipes when I've worked all day and don't have a lot of time to cook in the evening. So, last night I took my own homemade organic chili straight from the refrigerator and made stuffed peppers with it. Took very little effort and I could just hang out while they were baking.

CHILI STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS

One large organic green pepper per person, topped and seeded.

Organic chili soup (your favorite variety and recipe, just don't use canned, chemical filled processed chili! Unhealthy and disgusting.)

Shredded cheese (1 tablespoon per pepper)

Chopped green onion, sliced olives, tomatoes, other veggies of your liking for garnish.

Organic tortilla chips**

Parboil the peppers for 5 minutes in boiling water. Put them in a deep baking dish (or individual large ramekins) and fill with cold chili. Top with 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese (I used raw cheddar) and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Top with chopped veggies and serve with organic tortilla chips. Delicious!!

**Organic tortilla chips - I never, ever (although I used to) eat tortilla chips made from processed ingredients because they're full of chemicals, unhealthy fats, they're addictive and because when I start eating them I can't stop!! However, I've found that with organic chips, I can stop with one serving (and I do pay attention to the serving size). They don't haunt me, they don't call to me from the cupboard and there are times I even forget I have them and they go stale. But, if they don't work that way for you, don't eat them. They really aren't worth it and this is good all on its own without the chips!

Eating Seasonally and Locally - Mashed Turnip and Sweet Potato with Sage and Parmesan

The lowly turnip gets very little respect. But it should! It's a nutritional powerhouse containing fiber, folate, calcium, potassium, copper, manganese, vitamins C and B6 and vegetable protein. They're readily available this time of year, economical and quite tasty, especially prepared like this.

MASHED TURNIP AND SWEET POTATO

WITH SAGE AND PARMESAN

1 turnip peeled and cut into chunks

1 sweet potato peeled and cut into chunks

2 tsp butter

1 1/2 tsp rubbed sage

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Boil the turnip and sweet potato until done and drain. Add the butter and the sage and beat with a beater until they have a whipped consistency. Add the cheese and continue beating until the cheese is incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Makes 2 servings. This is good! Might become a favorite of mine.

Oatcake with Cherries and Nutmeg

A slightly different version of a pancake with half of it being oats, this is a "stick to your ribs" kind of pancake. When I was about 6, or so, my great aunt used to fix oatmeal for me for breakfast and I really didn't like it! She would tell me I needed to eat it because it would stick to my ribs! That made it even worse because I could picture that gray sticky stuff stuck to my ribs inside of my tummy all day long! But, since then I've grown to appreciate oats, even to like them. Therefore, in memory of my Great Aunt Fairy (yep, Aunt Fairy), an oatcake topped with cherries. And I always have loved cherries, so that's no chore and they can stick to my ribs (along with the oats) if they want to.

OATCAKE WITH CHERRIES

AND NUTMEG

Makes one oatcake.

Oatcake

2 tbl organic flour

2 tbl old fashioned organic oats

1 tsp aluminum free baking powder

dash of salt

1/4 cup filtered water

Stir all ingredients and cook on a griddle like you would a regular pancake.

Cherries for the top

1 cup sweet red cherries (frozen works fine)

1 tsp natural arrowroot

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp honey

Mix together and microwave for 45 seconds. Stir and microwave for another 45 seconds. Let set until it begins to cool and spread it over the oatcake. Delicious!

Black Bean Taco Pizza

I love pizza! Who doesn't. But, pizza made from processed ingredients does me no favors! I'll overeat, feel lousy, be mad at myself and the cravings will begin and I'll want to eat again shortly after already overeating. So, because pizza made from processed ingredients affects me that way, when I have pizza I make it myself. This one - taco pizza from "refried" black beans with stone ground organic flour for the crust uses ingredients made by the earth and not a corporation that uses processed, refined, chemical loaded ingredients. This is a one person pizza made from real food and it's really good if I do say so myself!

BLACK BEAN TACO PIZZA

For the crust - 

1/3 cup organic stone ground wheat flour

1/2 tsp yeast

1/4 tsp honey

3 1/2 T warm filtered water

dash of salt

Dissolve the yeast and the honey in the warm water. Stir in the flour until it's well incorporated and shape into a ball. Cover and let it sit for about 20 minutes.

Sauce - 

1/3 cup black "refried" beans - my version of refried beans for this was to take organic black beans that I had cooked with garlic and mash them into a paste-like consistency. You can buy regular organic refried beans and use them as well.

1/6 cup organic taco sauce

Toppings

shredded cheese

sliced black olives

chopped green onion

chopped green pepper

Stir the beans and the taco sauce together for the pizza sauce. Spread the pizza dough onto a baking stone and top with the bean sauce and 1/4 cup of shredded cheese. Top with the sliced olives, chopped onion and green pepper and any other veggie you like. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.When it's done top with lettuce and tomatoes and salsa and maybe guacamole. Taco pizza!

Kamut and Oats Banana Nut Microwave Mini Muffins

These are SO good and really fast and cute! This recipe makes two mini muffins baked in the microwave in ramekins for a fast breakfast. Made with all organic ingredients including kamut flour and oats, they're healthy and delicious. And fast! Did I say fast? Speedy? I think I did.

KAMUT AND OATS BANANA NUT 

MICROWAVE MINI MUFFINS

1/2 ripe mashed ripe banana

1 T chopped walnuts

3 T kamut flour

1 T old fashioned oats

1 tsp honey

1 tsp softened butter or coconut oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp aluminum free baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 T unsweetened cashew milk

Mix all ingredients and divide evenly between two small oiled ramekins. Microwave for 45 seconds and breakfast is ready! You might have time to pour a cup of coffee and have a sip before they're ready to come out of the microwave. So, top them off with a couple of walnut pieces and a touch of honey and enjoy them with that coffee. Or, invite a friend over and share.

Creamy Mushroom, Spinach and Leek Soup

Soup is warm and comforting and for me must have healing properties because there's something about it that just makes me feel better. I think it reminds me of both of my grandmothers, although they each had their specialties. One made the most incredible vegetable soup and the other one always made chicken noodle soup when I wasn't feeling well. And, when the weather begins to turn cooler, it's just time to make soup! Which means I'll be making it in a lot of different varieties for the next several months. This one - crazy with mushrooms, non dairy, vegan, low carb, low calorie, gluten free (if you don't add croutons) - all of the good stuff and non of the bad. I took it to work with me and heated it up and had a healthy lunch that was so much better than the food from the fast food places. And, economically speaking, fixing you own lunch saves a lot of money!

CREAMY MUSHROOM, SPINACH AND LEEK SOUP

4 ounces chopped mushrooms 

1/2 cup chopped leeks

1 chopped celery stalk

1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach
1 T chopped red bell pepper

2 tsp mushroom bouillon

2 cups unsweetened cashew milk

2 T arrowroot powder
1/4 cup water
black pepper

Saute the leeks and celery and bell pepper in coconut oil (about 1 tsp if you choose) or just cook them in a small amount of water until they're tender adding more water to keep them from drying out and burning. Add the mushrooms and cook until tender. Add the spinach, the bouillon and the cashew milk and cook over medium heat stirring frequently until hot and bubbly. Dissolve the arrowroot in the 1/4 cup of water, add to the soup and stir until thickened. Season with black pepper and add some croutons if you choose. If you eat the entire recipe of soup and don't add coconut oil or croutons, it's about 160 calories. If you add the teaspoon of coconut oil, it's about 200 calories (again, minus the croutons). Soup made from the ingredients made by the earth and a soup my grandmothers both would have been proud of!

Eggs and Avocados - Perfect Combination

My favorite breakfast, hands down is poached eggs on avocado toast made from this bread recipe. Simple, easy and fast, it contains all the nutrition of eggs from pasture-raised chickens and avocados and whole grains. Besides being delicious, the health benefits of avocados are all over the place lately and the difference between supermarket eggs and pastured eggs...well, besides the color of the yolks and the taste and buying local, there's this - From Mother Earth News - "New test results show that pastured eggs producers are kicking the commercial industry's derriere when it comes to vitamin D! Eggs from hens raised on pasture show 4 to 6 times as much vitamin D as typical supermarket eggs."

I eat eggs frequently. My cholesterol level is nowhere near too high and, with the old but new news coming out that dietary cholesterol isn't harmful (and never was), I plan to continue eating eggs from pastured chickens frequently. And to the local lady who raises the chicken we buy the eggs from - thank you!! May you continue to raise chickens for many years to come!

POACHED EGGS AND AVOCADO TOAST

This is so simple it really doesn't need a recipe but here it is anyway. Toast a piece of your favorite organic, unprocessed bread. Spread it with 1/2 of a ripe avocado and top with two (or one) poached eggs. Salt and pepper and breakfast is ready. Takes about 10 minutes max. Fast and nutritious and protein-packed. Using organic unprocessed bread, there should be no craving issues caused by processed commercially made bread that's full of chemicals, sugar and preservatives. Simple? Yes. Rustic? That, too. AND, you should be good to go until lunch.

Organic Kamut, Oat, Wheat and Sunflower Seed Bread

Something about making bread from scratch is good for the soul. The measuring, the knowing that it's made from healthy unprocessed ingredients, the kneading (burns a few calories and works out a few frustrations!), the smell that fills the house while it's baking just makes it feel like you're doing something healthy for you and whomever you choose to share it with. I no longer eat processed bread because I do have issues with it. It sets me up for craving and thinking about food non-stop for at least three days. So, when I do have bread, I make it myself from organic ingredients. Which means I have to make it every weekend or just not have it at all. Therefore, not so much bread for me. But this past weekend I made two loaves of what turned out to be some really fine bread. And, I gave one to my mother who said, "you did good on this one!" That's quite a compliment!

ORGANIC KAMUT, OAT, WHEAT AND 

SUNFLOWER SEED BREAD

This recipe makes two LARGE loaves of bread -

1 tablespoon of yeast 

3 cups of warm water

1 tablespoon of organic honey

1/4 cup organic olive oil

1 cup organic kamut flour

1 cup organic old fashioned oats

5 1/2 to 6 cups organic wheat flour

1/2 cup toasted organic sunflower seeds

2 teaspoons of salt

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and honey for about 20 minutes (until it begins to bubble). Stir in the olive oil, the kamut flour, the oats, the toasted sunflower seeds and the salt. Add the wheat flour in stages until it gets too difficult to stir. Spread about 1/2 cup of the remaining wheat flour onto a board and begin the incorporate the rest of the flour by kneading and work the bread until it's smooth and elastic and shiny (from 8 to 10 minutes). If you don't work in all of the flour, that's ok. Too much will make it tough. This batch wound up using 5 1/2 cups.

Oil two extra large bowls and divide the dough in half. Place the dough in the bowls and turn it over once so the top is also oiled. Cover with plastic wrap or a dish towel and let rise until double. Punch down and shape into a ball and let rest for 20 minutes. Oil two large bread pans and shape the dough into loaves and cover with a dish towel. Let rise until double, or bigger. When it's shaped like a nice loaf of bread, it's ready to bake.

Preheat your oven to 375 and bake until golden and when you tap the top it sounds hollow (about 40 minutes for these two loaves in the oven together). I spread melted butter over the top of each loaf to soften the crust. That's what gives it the shiny look...and that's optional. We'll use this bread for breakfast this week and maybe even make croutons with some of it for soup. And, I'll be making this one again! As my mom said, I did good on this one!

Apple Pie Pancake from Perfectly Imperfect Organic Apples - Cooking Seasonally and Buying Locally

Last trip to the farmer's market I found organic apples from a 60 year old tree. How do I know they  came from a 60 year old tree? Well, the 60 year old man who sold them to me said the tree was planted on his birthday and I believe him. 60 year old tree, or not, they're local and not sprayed, so I'm happy with that. And, I can deal with the "imperfections" because a few spots, a bug bite, or anything from nature is MUCH preferable than dealing with pesticides.

And, this morning I made a pancake and used the apple for the topping -

APPLE PIE PANCAKE

Pancake

1/4 cup organic wheat flour

1/4 cup filtered water

1 tsp aluminum free baking powder

1/4 tsp apple pie spice
1 packet of stevia

Mix the pancake batter and cook like a regular pancake. 

Topping

1 apple chopped

1/4 tsp apple pie spice

2 tablespoons of apple juice or apple cider

1 tsp arrowroot
dash of salt

1 tablespoon of toasted walnuts

honey

Microwave all topping ingredients (except the walnuts and the honey) for 45 seconds. Stir and microwave for another 45 seconds. Toast the walnuts by putting them in a dry skillet and shaking them around on a hot burner until they are crispy. Top the pancake with the apples, the walnuts and some honey, if you want. Tastes like autumn! 

Spiced Up Sweet Potato Pancakes with Honey and Toasted Pecans

Sweet potatoes! Something to get excited about! No, really, they are! Made by the earth (not some factory), they're loaded with nutrients, including a LOT of Vitamin A and beta-carotene.  These pancakes are topped with locally grown honey and toasted pecans (also courtesy of the earth) and they're delicious. Nothing in them comes from chemically loaded processed foods devoid of nutrients and they contain no refined sugars. No cravings caused by junk food here plus they contain the nutrition your body wants.

SPICED UP SWEET POTATO PANCAKES

1/2 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato

1/4 cup organic wheat flour

2 eggs

1 packet of stevia

1/4 tsp aluminum free baking powder

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground ginger

Milk of your choice (I used unsweetened cashew milk)

Mix the potatoes and eggs and flour together until no lumps remain adding just enough milk to make it a pourable batter. Add the remaining ingredients and cook just like any other pancake. This recipe makes 3 but 2 were plenty for me. Top them with honey and toasted pecans (I toasted mine by putting them in a dry skillet and shaking them around on the hot stove burner until they were crispy). Yum!!

Organic Wheat and Sunflower Seed Bread and in defense of...BREAD

I love bread! BUT I don't eat bread unless I make it myself. Is that over the top? Maybe, but maybe not. Commercially prepared bread is processed (the earth didn't make that!), has no naturally occurring nutrients and is loaded with chemicals and refined sugars depending on what kind you buy. I do know that if I eat processed food, including bread, it sets me up for craving. I want to avoid that because I don't want to fight thinking about food 24 hours a day until I go through withdrawal and the processed food I ate that set me up is out of my system. I also know that if I eat processed bread I begin to have gut issues beginning with an almost immediate cramping sensation. I used to think perhaps it was gluten. Now I think it may not be gluten but it may be something that's in the processed bread. So, I make my own. And, since I only eat the bread I make myself, I don't eat a lot of bread. Therefore when I do take the time to make it I want it to be something I'm going to enjoy. This past weekend I made this...

ORGANIC WHEAT

AND SUNFLOWER SEED BREAD

Makes one loaf

1 cup of warm (100 - 110 degrees) filtered water

2 tsp yeast

1 tsp honey

3 cups of organic stone ground wheat flour

1/8 - 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds, toasted (use less or more seeds depending on how seedy you want your bread)

1/2 tsp salt

Dissolve the yeast and honey in the warm water and let it set until the yeast begins to bubble (about 5 minutes).

Add the flour, sunflower seeds and salt. Stir until it's all incorporated enough that you need to use your hands to work it in well. Turn it onto a floured board and knead, using additional flour if necessary, until it's an elastic ball and not sticky (around 8 minutes should do it).

Put the dough into a large oiled bowl, flip the dough over so it's oiled on top and cover with plastic or a clean, dry dish towel. Let rise for a couple of hours in a warm place until double. Punch it down and let it rest for about 20 minutes. Shape it into a loaf and place it into an oiled loaf pan and let rise again until it's at least double and loaf shaped. Bake in a 350 degree oven for around 35 minutes until it's nicely browned and makes a hollow sound when you tap it. Let it cool on a rack and take it out of the pan. Or, better yet take it out of the pan while it's still hot and spread some REAL butter on it and maybe a little honey. Your own bread - doesn't get much better.

Slow Cooked Roast Chicken with Leeks and Rosemary

My grandparents raised chickens and once in a while on Sunday we would have fried chicken made from one of those chickens. It was delicious! They were raised as free range chicken, never given antibiotics on a routine basis the way chickens from factory farms are and actually got to live their lives outside eating bugs and whatever else chickens eat. We'd gather eggs from the yard and play with baby chicks in the spring. I realize it's not easy to find an organically raised chicken and they're expensive (or at least they are in my area) but give it a try. For this recipe, it's worth it!

SLOW COOKED ROAST CHICKEN

WITH LEEKS AND ROSEMARY

1 frying chicken

6 small  to medium leeks (you'll need about 2 cups chopped)

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

salt and pepper

Gravy recipe is below (optional but it's REALLY good)

Roughly chop the leek tops and the whites(I did the leeks the night before because I'm always in a hurry in the morning). Reserve about 1/4 cups of the whites and finely chop those for the gravy. Wash and dry the chicken and salt and pepper the cavity. Stuff the cavity with the chopped leeks, the rosemary sprig and 1 teaspoon of the garlic. Place the chicken on a rack in the slow cooker (you can also wad up pieces of aluminum foil and place the chicken on top of that instead of using a rack). Tie the chicken legs together with cooking twine, place in the slow cooker and spread the remaining minced garlic over the top of the chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook on low for about 8 hours.

Gravy

After cooking and removing the chicken to a platter (it should be falling apart tender at this point) take a ladle of the broth from the cooker and put it in a small pan. Add the finely chopped leeks and 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic and cook until the broth is reduced by half and the leeks are tender. Add 1/4 cup of organic flour to 1 1/2 cups of organic chicken broth. And that and 1/2 teaspoon of poultry seasoning to the leeks and cook until thickened. Just before serving add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of white wine and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the gravy over the chicken or smashed garlic potatoes. Add a side of a green veggie and you have a delicious dinner made by the earth (and you)!

White Bean Soup with Baby Turnip Greens and Sage

This soup, a hearty lunch or comfort food supper, is a blend of earthy vegetables, flavors and nutrients. In my local area more and more organic foods are being introduced into the grocery stores, including organic dry beans. The baby turnip greens and sage I was lucky enough to be able to pick from our garden but you can use any greens you want (spinach is good!) and the fresh sage can usually be found at the grocery store. If not you can substitute 1/2 tsp of dried sage.

WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH

 BABY TURNIP GREENS AND SAGE

1 1/2 cups cooked white beans, drained

3 cups vegetable broth

1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves minced garlic

3 fresh sage leaves

1 cup roughly chopped loosely packed baby turnip greens (or greens of your choosing)

1 stalk of celery chopped

1 carrot chopped

1 T olive oil or coconut oil

black pepper

grated Parmesan cheese

Saute the onion, garlic, celery and carrot in the oil until the onion is translucent. Add the greens and the sage and cook until the greens are wilted. Add the beans and the broth, bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes until all vegetables are tender. Using a potato masher mash the soup vegetables until roughly mashed and the soup is nicely thickened. Ladle into a soup bowl and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Serve with rustic bread or croutons.

Date Nut Cracked Wheat Cereal and reasons for organic and non GMO

I've made the switch to organic and non GMO as much as I possibly can because no matter how you feel about genetic engineering (the earth didn't make that!), the plants are sprayed with RoundUp (the earth SURE didn't make that!).  Since companies who produce GMO  and RoundUp laced products won't label them, if it isn't labeled as organic or non GMO, I won't buy it. Is that limiting? No so much. Companies are beginning to understand that a lot of us are voting with our money and are offering more organic. Companies that are proud to produce non GMO (thank you non GMO companies!) are labeling them as non GMO. Since the representatives that were voted in to represent human beings are instead representing big food and big agriculture, I'm voting with my shopping currency. And I feel I'm far healthier in the process. If the earth didn't make it, I'm not going to buy it or eat it.

This morning I made a simple bowl of cracked wheat cereal made by Bob's Red Mill and added a couple of things like dates and walnuts, cinnamon and honey. 

DATE NUT CRACKED WHEAT CEREAL

3/4 cup of water

1/4 cup of organic cracked wheat cereal

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 to 2 dates, chopped

1 tablespoon of walnuts

2 tsp of honey

Bring water to boil and cook the cereal until the water is absorbed and its become tender. Stir in the cinnamon. Add the dates, the nuts and the honey. I topped it off with about 1/2 cup of Silk non GMO (YAY!) cashew milk and a bowl of blackberries on the side.

This was delicious! I'll definitely be doing this one again.

Spiced Peach Pancakes and is it really a gluten sensitivity?

When I used to eat processed food before I knew better (our food supply is supposed to be healthy and safe, right? FDA and USDA tell us that and they wouldn't lie...much) and I ate pancakes made from processed flour with refined sugar my stomach felt like I'd swallowed a soft ball. So, I blamed gluten. I certainly can't speak for anybody who does have a real gluten problem (my son does and it makes him SICK) but when I stopped eating pancakes (or anything) made from processed flour and refined sugar I stopped having the softball in the belly issue. Plus, I wasn't craving sugar and processed snacks 20 minutes after having eaten even though I was stuffed. I've also lost 24 pounds since March by eating real food and NO dieting and no craving. And, I CAN have pancakes! I just make them from organic stone ground flour and add (for this one) fresh organic fruit. And, they're delicious. I also discovered that pancakes don't need added oil or eggs, either. At least this one doesn't.

SPICED PEACH PANCAKE

Pancake (makes one)

1/4 cup stone ground organic flour 

1 tsp aluminum free non GMO baking powder

1 tsp of local honey

dash of salt 

1/4 cup filtered water

Mix and pour into a hot, lightly oiled (I used coconut oil) griddle or skillet. Cook until bubbly on top and flip. Continue cooking until brown on the bottom and done.

Spiced peach sauce

One large or two small organic peaches peeled and cut into chunks

1/2 tsp of organic apple pie spice 

1/2 tsp of natural arrowroot

1 tsp of honey if you prefer the peach a little sweeter (mine was fine without it)

Microwave the peaches for 45 seconds. Stir and microwave for another 45 seconds. Let cool until the sauce begins to thicken and pour it over the pancake. 

Delicious, organic, non GMO and made by the earth. IF THE EARTH DIDN'T MAKE IT, DON'T EAT IT!

Jalapeno and Cilantro Potatoes and Eggs

When I was a kid I had a babysitter who had one front tooth (the one on the left, I think) didn't wear a bra and definitely should have, a husband who just sat in a chair and stared straight ahead (I wonder why) and 5 children (she and chair-sitter must have liked each other at least 5 times) BUT she made the best damned fried potatoes! I've never been able to replicate those but these aren't too bad.

Jalapeno and Cilantro Fried Potatoes for One

1 medium to large organic (ORGANIC) potato scrubbed  and baked (or microwaved). If it's not organic peel it and boil it.

After cooking the potato cube it and put it in a small skillet with two teaspoons of melted coconut oil. Add 1 tablespoon of red bell pepper and 1/2 to 1 tsp of chopped jalapeno (depending on how hot you like your potatoes) and cook until nicely brown. After browning toss in 1 tsp of chopped cilantro and top with two poached farm eggs from farm raised chickens (look for a local farmer, do the both of you a favor), add salt to taste.

This makes a great breakfast or brunch or light supper. Delicious!

If the earth doesn't make it, don't eat it!

PACK YOUR LUNCH! - Chicken Cobb Salad

Make it easy on yourself. Pack a lunch to take to work that is nutritious, dense with protein, vitamins and minerals, not enormous (don't stuff yourself!) and will keep your cravings at bay. Stay away from the processed bread, the fast food restaurant down the street, the pizza joint, the vending machines, the soda machine (WATER, WATER, WATER - the earth makes water) and be good to your body.

Here's one idea - 

Chicken Cobb Salad with balsamic vinaigrette (or in my case just vinegar). Easy to make and just takes a few preparations the night (or weekend before).

Early preparations -

Grill enough chicken for several days and freeze it. I grilled the chicken in this salad with olive oil, basil and garlic on Sunday and did enough for several future lunches and froze it. Then I just took some out of the freezer this morning, microwaved it for 20 seconds, sliced it up and put it in the salad.

Boil an egg (or six) the night before. Use one in your salad.

Chop your lettuce and other veggies the night before.

For this one I assembled it all in a bowl with 1/2 of a sliced avocado, chopped tomato and green pepper and onion. Plenty of protein and veggies. 

You can make any kind of dressing you like. PLEASE don't use commercially prepared bottled dressing unless you read, read, read the label. Most are LOADED with chemicals and sugar and all kinds of things that will cause cravings and other issues. I used about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar (no oil - your choice if you do, but if you do, use olive), a dash of dried dill or basil or Italian seasoning and another dash of stevia. Add a little salt and pepper that I keep at my desk and I'm good until dinner time. Do I get hungry? Sure. I'm supposed to get hungry. Is it out of control? No. Because I'm not craving. Craving and hunger are two entirely different situations. If you get out of the junk, processed foods, refined sugar and STAY out of them, the cravings for garbage food will stop. I can manage my hunger as long as the cravings aren't there.

If it isn't from the earth, don't eat it!

  

Farmer's Market and Italian Eggplant and Mushroom Casserole

I love Farmer's Market! You meet some really cool people. This is Bob. Bob sells organic produce at Farmer's Markets in Central Illinois that he grows himself and, along with these items on this particular day,

he also had eggplant. I bought that from him along with Swiss chard (both VERY reasonably priced) went to the neighboring booth, bought a watermelon and went about my merry way with my edible treasures. I cooked the Swiss chard for supper that evening along with burgers on the grill, had the watermelon for dessert and the next day made Italian Eggplant and Mushroom Casserole.

I don't bread and fry the eggplant. It's messy, I don't want the breadcrumbs (processed, I don't eat bread unless I make it myself) and...it's messy. So for this particular casserole (you gotta like...er, make that LOVE eggplant because this is really eggplanty), here is the recipe I used -

1 large (not enormous, but large) firm eggplant peeled and cut into smallish chunks (like 1 1/2" by 1 1/2")

4 ounces of sliced mushrooms (whatever kind you like. I used baby portabella for this one because that's what I had)

1 pint (or 2 cups) of marinara

4 ounces of mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Layer the eggplant and mushrooms in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Pour the marinara over it and cheese it up! as in layer the cheeses. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. If you want it a little browner (I did) put it under a low broiler for about 5 minutes or until it's as brown as you want it. Serve it with organic garlic bread or garlic biscuits. It's not bad! And, it's from the earth!!

Marinara and Home Grown Tomatoes

From this -

to this -

to this -

Summertime and bounty from the garden and the opportunity to make your own marinara sauce with nothing added to that that you don't want in it, as in chemicals and preservatives and sugar along with those "natural ingredients" that processed marinara and pasta sauce has that aren't particularly natural. The definition give by the FDA as "natural" is "nothing artificial or synthetic (including colors regardless of source) is included in, or has been added to, the product that would not normally be expected to be there."   I don't know about you but I prefer WANT to know what's in my food. The label "all natural" doesn't quite get it for me.

If you grow your own tomatoes you can use the less than perfect for sauce. If you don't, utilize your local farmers markets who may have vendors who will sell you their less than perfect at a discounted price. Peppers and onions - same thing. Grow your own or check out your farmers markets. As far as recipes, you can make up your own or find any number of recipes online but for this one here's what I used -

2 1/2 gallons of fresh tomatoes blanched (I used Roma and an heirloom variety called Ace 55 and another heirloom beefsteak).

2 large green peppers chopped

1 large onion chopped

2 tablespoons of dried Italian spices

1/2 C white wine

Salt to taste

Put it all in the crock pot and let it cook until it cooks down as thick as you want it. I let it cook all day. If I want it really thick I cook it some more the next day. This particular batch made 4 pints. We can tomatoes as much as we can for as long in the season as we can. Stewed tomatoes, marinara, spaghetti sauce, salsa. We have enough for the entire year. Most important, we know exactly what's in it and what's not in it, like BPA.

When we can we use a large pressure cooker/canner. If you aren't comfortable doing that the marina sauce can also be frozen. Freezing is easier and we enjoy the process and like having the jars sitting on open shelves. They add to the atmosphere! 

Multi-grain Pancake with Strawberry Sauce

This is so good! I love this pancake, especially in the summer. And, if you have it in the winter it  will remind you of summer. A favorite of mine and it's fast!

Strawberry Sauce -

1 cup of frozen sliced strawberries

1/2 - 1 packet of stevia OR 1 tsp of local organic honey

1 tsp of natural arrowroot (I used Bob's Red Mill for this)

Stir the berries and powdered ingredients together and microwave for 45 seconds. Stir and microwave for 45 more seconds. Let cool.

Pancake

2 T organic white flour (I used Gold N White that I got from Country Life Natural Foods made by Natural Way Mills)

1 T organic stone ground or old fashioned oats (I used Bob's Red Mill)

1 T organic kamut flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)

1 tsp aluminum free baking soda

dash of salt

1/4 cup of filtered water

Mix all together and pour the batter into a lightly oiled (light olive or coconut oil) hot griddle or skillet until bubbly on top. Flip over and finish cooking. 

Top with real butter (organic, grass fed dairy, if possible) and spread the cooled strawberry sauce over the pancake and enjoy!

Real Stew!! French County Stew

I used to think that eating a bowl of stew was far too substantial! That's food, REAL food. Until I began to think of the way my very thin great grandparents ate. They had breakfast, real breakfast and then they went about their morning. At noon, they had lunch (they called it dinner) and went about the rest of their day. At dinner time (supper for them) they had their evening meal consisting of real food and called it good. They didn't do the eat all day long thing snacking here and there and everywhere. Their tummies actually got empty the way a tummy is designed to do. They looked forward to their next meal because they were actually ready for it. They hadn't stuffed themselves with snacks and cookies and energy bars to keep their energy up (and that doesn't work, btw). Real food does just fine keeping your energy up.

I put this stew in my crock pot at noon today. I love crock pot cooking because when I get home from work dinner is waiting making the house smell homey and welcoming. Usually I do the prep work in the morning before I leave for work but today I came home to check and see if my husband and his new carpal tunnel surgery arm needed anything and, since he was doing just fine, I put this together for our supper. Considering I was very limited by time, it had to be a pretty quick project and it was.

Ingredient list - (organic, locally grown as much as possible)

1/4 pound bacon

1 pound of stew meat (grass fed, locally grown if possible)

3 tablespoons of flour

About a dozen or so small baby potatoes or two large baking potatoes scrubbed (peeled if they aren't organic) and cut into 2 inch chunks

6 organic carrots cut into chunks

1 thinly sliced large onion

1 large jar of button mushrooms drained

1 cup of red cooking wine

1 can of vegetable broth

2 beef bouillon cubes 

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup arrowroot

1/2 cup water

frozen peas

Fry the bacon keeping the "drubbins" in the skillet as in keep the drippings, you'll need them.

While the bacon is cooking dredge the stew meat in the flour and scrub and prepare the vegetables. Lay the sliced onion on the bottom of the crock pot. Remove the bacon to paper towels and brown the garlic and the stew meat in the bacon drippings. Place the browned meat and garlic in the crock pot and pour the red wine in the skillet to utilize the flavors of the drippings. Put the vegetables (except the peas) in the crock pot, scrape the meat and bacon bits out of the skillet with the wine and pour the wine and meat drubbins concoction over the vegetables. Add the jar of mushrooms, the can of broth and the bouillon cubes and the bay leaf. Crumble up the bacon and put it in there, too and add some freshly ground black pepper. Depending on how soon you need it to be done (I put mine on 6 hours) turn your crock pot on and let it cook. 

Fast forward five hours, arrive home from work and the house smelled wonderful, my husband was relaxing in his recliner and hadn't had to lift a finger (which was good 'cause he can't) and there was a welcoming pot full of a really nice french country stew that was almost complete. A few minutes before serving stir in the arrowroot dissolved in the 1/2 cup of water and let  it cook until it thickens (won't take long). Right before serving stir in a few frozen peas. Side the stew with a biscuit made from whole grain flours and a bit of real butter (no margarine...chemicals, chemicals, chemicals!). Include a salad if you like and some fresh fruit for dessert. I'll be making this one again!